Programming in RPG IV

Thank you so much! Finally an RPG book for BEGINNERS! I've programmed in other languages before(C, C++, Java, web, etc.), but my new job uses RPG and I could not get a firm grasp of what was going on in RPG. I could figure out enough to find where given errors were occuring in the programs, but I'm going to start building my own code now and absolutely had to find a good starter's book for understanding the underlying concepts for RPG's formatting. I've Googled and I've gone through my workplace's books, but everything I found either assumed you were already familiar with previous versions of RPG, or else they only gave a small glimpse and were too brief to help. This book talks very briefly about some of the elementary principles of coding, but thankfully it doesn't dwell on it. This book was perfect for me, thanks so much!

A lot of materials that teach RPG IV do so assuming you already have knowledge about RPG III. This book assumes nothing and teaches you everything to start developing programs from the ground up. It doesn't even assume that you have previous programming knowledge. It teaches you everything you need to know. It does so quickly while covering topics with great depth. The only gripe I have with the book is one of the last chapters about subfiles is a little short for a complicated topic. Although I must admit that my use case was rare. This will always have a place on my desk.

Great book! Bought to learn AS400 at my company. This is for RPG 4 which is the last version before free form. Great book to teach RPG and for reference

I have read many books that try to explain the ghastly mess IBM created when they inflicted RPG IV on the midrange programming universe, and this one is better than most: 1) Most of the examples in this book logically follow their predecessors; they don't just pull code out of a hat and leave the hapless reader wondering where it came from and how it pertains to the associated text. 2) The most important thing this book has going for it is the fact that it treats RPG the same way textbooks treat other programming languages. Even though RPG is a very special-purpose language, I am sick to death of reading RPG books that treat it as though its concepts were entirely unrelated to those of other programming languages. For example, this book carefully explains "variations on the theme" such as evalr and eval-corr, the way normal textbooks do when they explain other programming languages. 3) The completeness of Appendix A was a delight. There is little wrong with this book: 1) I only found one significant error in this book. The comment in the code in the example on page 98 that states that data structure Customer is 70 bytes long is wrong: it is 90 bytes long, because it contains the subfield Name, which, like the field it is based on, is 20 bytes long. Also, this makes field Label, which is based on Customer, 90 bytes long, not 70. I'm sure there must be other errors in this book, but I only found this one, whereas I have found far more in other RPG books. 2) Like other RPG books, this one should start by explaining the idea of externally-described files, because they are something the student is not expecting. The concepts of files, records and fields follow logically from the idea of externally-described files, so it should be presented in the first chapter. 3) This book should have made much more of an effort to introduce the old code that students who go on to become RPG programmers will encounter early in their careers. It is far better that they experience this shock while they are still students than when they are depending on the paycheck they are trying to take home! 4) I firmly disagree with the authors' haughty dismissal of the styles and coding techniques used by traditional RPG programmers, because there were valid reasons for making the decisions they made at the time. 5) Even after reading this book, I still have only a vague understanding of prototypes, procedures, modules and service programs. The authors should have explained these bizarre concepts in terms of traditional calling of other programs and the passing of parameters. Bottom line, however, is still: buy this book; it's worth it!

If you need to see page numbers for your homework or citations look elsewhere, it is not an option in this format

This book has great conceptual flow and has served me well in starting off as a brand-new RPG programmer! I highly recommend it!

Good purchase. Great price and fast ship! Thank you!

I'm an RPG developer who is also a professional educator on RPG IV and related topics. Most of my time is spent teaching experienced RPG developers about new or more advanced features of the language. But occasionally, I am asked to either teach RPG newbies or at least recommend a way to learn RPG to those who don't know the language at all. Until I saw this book, I was hard pressed to find what I felt was a good, solid textbook that covers today's version of the RPG IV language from the ground up. This 4th edition is not just the same book that has been around for years with a few updates here and there. It has been rewritten to teach the beginner today's RPG IV language using features that nearly all my clients want their developers to use, such as free format logic, prototypes for calling programs as well as subprocedures and APIs, and modular coding techniques using Service Programs. The older style of RPG coding that is still (sadly) seen to some degree in many shops is included, but it is relegated to secondary status, as I believe it should be. The way this book teaches the new, current techniques first and foremost will help these new RPG programmers get off to the right start so that they can experience the true power of today's RPG language. Maybe some of the new RPGers who learn RPG this way will help a few dyed-in-wool old-style RPGers to see the light. I recommend this book and I will use it alongside my own course materials when teaching newcomers to the RPG language. Thanks, Jim and Bryan, for a great textbook resource.

ottimo libro, evviva RPG

Standard text book for our company.

Aunque ya tiene algunos años, y no incluye los cambios fundamentales abiertos a partir de la versión 7.3 del sistema, de todas formas ofrece un sistemático y claro acercamiento a los aspectos fundamentales del RPGIV. A eso debemos agregar que se trata de una copia usada, conservada en condiciones excelentes. Es decir, también un muy buen precio para un libro en perfectas condiciones.